The History of the Indian Wars in New England from the First Settlement to the Termination of the War with King Philip, in 1677. From the Original Work, by the Rev. William Hubbard. Carefully Revised, and Accompanied with an Historical Preface, Life and Pedigree of the Author, and Extensive Notes, by Samuel G. Drake Hubbard, William; Samuel G. Drake Americana,History,Military & War

First thus, limited issue in two volumes. Large paper edition, #42 of 50 copies. xxxi, [1], 292; 303 pp., black and white foldout map inserted before title page. Quarto, bound in later half morocco over red marbled paper-covered boards, gilt stamping to spines, top edge gilt, red marbled endpapers. Near Fine with light scuffing to covers and light rubbing to extremities and bumping to corners. Contents lightly toned with several penciled notations, short tear to map, and light offsetting to Volume I title page from same. Evidence of label removal to Volume I front pastedown and free endpaper. An elegant revised edition of William Hubbard's 1677 account of the brutal war between allied Native American tribes and English colonists. The text is printed in an antique style using the long s and is decorated with ornamental head-pieces. The foldout map is a facsimile of Hubbard's iconic pictorial map, the first to be printed in the New England colonies. Hubbard was a Puritan minister, but a religious moderate who later resisted the hysteria of the Salem witch trials. His history was intended to counter Increase Mather's narrative, published the previous year. Both men believed the war was sent by God, but Mather saw it as a scourge to punish settlers for their lax morals, while Hubbard saw it as a test of faith. Samuel Gardner Drake, born almost a hundred years after Hubbard died, was an enthusiast of early American history and opened the country's first antiquarian bookstore in 1828. He collaborated on several projects with the coin and book dealer Elliot Woodward, who liked to reprint antique books and documents. The History of the Indian Wars was printed in an edition of 350 copies, of which 50 were on large paper.